Shift to left
Rightists routed in South Korean election
By Deirdre Griswold
The view in Washington a year ago, when
Pentagon troops had just rolled into Baghdad after a
devastating but relatively brief war, was that this dazzling
display of U.S. military might would cow the whole world and
make it clear that resistance was futile. Anyone not with Bush
was against him. Those labeled "rogue states" or part of the
"axis of evil" would be dealt with next.
North Korea was high on the list of countries being
threatened by Washington's doctrine, which boasted that the
United States was ready to fight two wars at the same time.
How long ago that seems now!
Those threats were aimed not only at the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea in the north, formed in 1948 after a
socialist revolution in Korea. They were also meant to
intimidate the militant move ments in South Korea that have
demanded U.S. troops get out, the south be reunified with the
north, and workers' conditions be improved.
The threats didn't work.
The movements have remained strong and in the streets. At
the same time, Presi dent George W. Bush's win in Iraq has
unrav eled, revealing a politically weakened imperialism.
And now, in South Korea, this has been reflected in the
arena most controlled by the capitalist ruling establishment:
the elections.
Parliamentary elections on April 15 resulted in a dramatic
shift to the left. For the first time since the repression of
the 1950s, a socialist party emerging from the labor movement
has won seats in the legislature.
The Korean Democratic Labor Party, which won 10 seats, calls
for the withdrawal of the 37,000 U.S. troops in Korea and rapid
reconciliation with the north. Its program is for a shorter
work week, workers' participation in management, and heavy
taxes on the wealthy to finance free medical services and
education.
The biggest winner in the election was the Uri Party, formed
only six months ago. It won 152 seats out of 299, a clear
majority. The conservative Grand National Party lost seats, as
did the Millennium Democratic Party of former president Kim
Dae-jung.
The vote for the liberal Uri Party, which tripled its seats
in parliament, was a repudiation of the last legislature's move
to impeach President Roh Mooh-hyun, who had recently endorsed
the party. Voter turnout was high.
The percentage of women in the legislature also rose
substantially, from 5.5 percent to 13 percent.
The first test for this new, more liberal parliament is the
issue of South Korean soldiers in Iraq. In February, yielding
to U.S. pressure, the parliament, at that time dominated by the
conservatives, voted to send 600 South Korean troops to Iraq,
and promised 3,000 more. But there is no mistaking mass
sentiment, which is vehemently opposed to participating in Wash
ington's colonial-style war and occupation.
The Democratic Labor Party announ ced at a news conference
in April that it was ready to introduce a bill into parliament
blocking the dispatch of more troops to Iraq.
The issue is closely tied to the unpopular U.S. military
occupation of South Korea. Unlike Spain, which recently
announced it was withdrawing its troops from Iraq, South Korea
is directly under the boot heel of the Pentagon and has an
economy closely linked to U.S. banks and corporations. The
ruling class greatly fears offending its imperialist patron and
would have to fear even more the strong pressure of the working
class and progressive masses before it would give in to such a
move.
Reprinted from the April 29, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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